from beginning to end, unceasingly
by myriadofrainbows
Summary: if not in this life, then the next, and again, again, until we find our happy ending. Mavis and Zeref, their interactions in their perspectives, from their first to last moments, chasing their happy ending.


**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima**

 **AN: Spoilers for the series (this covers till the end of the manga - chapter 545)**

from beginning to end, unceasingly

 _if not in this life, then the next, and again, again, until we find our happy ending_

笑うことさえ忘れてた

僕に魔法をかけて 笑顔一つで全てを 変えた君は 僕のFairy

To me, who has even forgotten how to laugh

You cast magic

You who changed everything with just one smile

You are my fairy

\- Snow Fairy by FUNKIST

~ . ~ . ~

You were young, painfully so, the first time we met. Yet, even when you hid your face in your hands, blushing and stammering apologies, your eyes belied wisdom beyond your age. You knew of my curse, witnessed the total destruction and cloud of death that it left behind, but you did not run, did not flee.

Instead, you asked, if I was lonely. You spun life from the magic in your palms and breathed warmth into whimsical creatures conjured out of thin air.

Joy. It was such a foreign emotion, something I experienced a distant time in the past, a fleeting memory. Yet, in those few short moments, you brought me more happiness than I could remember feeling in a long time.

With determination in your viridian eyes, you requested that I become your teacher.

Enraptured, I wondered then, if it was fate that brought the two of us together.

~ . ~ . ~

Once again, by chance, I saw you in the forest.

I was so happy, everything seemed to be falling in place at last – the war was over, everyone's lives were returning to normal, Fairy Tail was flourishing, and I, I got to meet you one more time.

It was then; I learnt your name, your identity, your reputation. I couldn't believe it. To me, you were nothing like what the rumours said. I told you as much, but you just smiled wryly and remarked on my innocence.

We talked, sharing the events that have come to pass since we last parted. Basking under the warmth of the sun, leaning on a rock side by side, everything was almost perfect, until –

"It's been 10 years…"

The implications of those four words brought about the realisation of the consequences of my actions.

In denial, I fled.

~ . ~ . ~

"I've been looking for you, Mavis."

I found you then, a year after you ran away from civilisation, huddled at the base of a tree, in a forest swept through by death. Gone was the cheerful bubbly girl who longed for an adventure with her friends. In her place was a girl with lank hair, hollow cheeks and dead eyes - an emaciated living corpse.

You begged me to kill you. The curse wouldn't have allowed me to grant you that wish. Deep down, in that selfish heart of mine, I don't think I wanted to grant you that wish anyway. I should have known better.

Ankhseram's Curse. A Curse of Contradictions. The more you love life, the more it will steal from those around you. There were no exceptions. I was a fool to have thought otherwise.

The warmth of your embrace, the promise of a future together, finding a way to break our never-ending cycle of death – that was the first bit of hope I allowed myself to cling on to for the first time in a long time.

True love's kiss was the purported cure to the most powerful curses in the world. It was laughably ironic that what rescued princesses from their doomed sleep sent you into eternal slumber instead.

~ . ~ . ~

You were there, I could sense it. On the island where I grew up, where my empty grave lay, you wandered.

Our paths don't cross that day. They run parallel until they converge again seven years later.

~ . ~ . ~

I could not see or hear you, but I knew you were there nonetheless. Your guild had won the Grand Magic Games, emerged victorious in the fight against the dragons and were engaged in the usual raucous celebrations at the newly restored Fairy Tail guild hall.

Yet, in a secluded forest at the edge of Magnolia, strangely reminiscent of our meeting years ago, we declared war. Under the shadow of the same tree, the distance between us seemed greater than ever.

~ . ~ . ~

As the war raged on outside, I forced my atrophied muscles to carry myself out of the basement, finally freed from the lacrima that I had been encased in.

It was almost funny, how the last person I saw when I was last alive in this body would be the very first person I laid my eyes on when I opened my eyes again.

You freed me from a physical prison of ice, only to make a prison of my mind.

In tears, I pleaded for you to help me. You left without another glance and I felt a piece of myself shatter. Was this how you felt when I left you?

~ . ~ . ~

I had forgotten how incredibly reckless you could be at times.

Immortal or not, throwing yourself in the path of Natsu using dragon force was not something anyone would do. Yet you did it all the same.

Furious, I grabbed you by your hair and yanked you back.

You told me you knew of a way to end this painful eternity we were cursed to live in. Unknown to you, you had delivered a way to end it all into my hands.

Neo Eclipse. I would go back in time and change the future, reshape the passage of time so that I would once again be a mere mortal, where our paths would never have a chance to cross, where you would have lived a happier life without ever having to meet me.

Farewell Mavis. And yet,

"Please… don't erase this world…because this world…this is the world…the world where…we meet each other."

~ . ~ . ~

It is finally just the two of us again.

You lie, unmoving, on the guild floor, defeated at last.

I can't forgive you. I want to kill you, to remove you from this world.

But, you loved me. I died but you lived. I wasn't able to steal your life away.

I want to kill you, but you are the reason I am still alive. Because of you, I learnt how to use magic. Because of you, I was able to save my friends. Because of you, I was able to create Fairy Tail.

I want to kill you, for all the pain that you have brought upon me. You hurt me. You hurt my friends. You tried to destroy my guild.

I hate you, but I can't let go of you. I hate you, but I love you so much.

I should kill you, to grant you the death you so dearly wished for, to bring an end to all of this. I should kill you, but I don't want you to die.

I want us to be together, forever, till the end of time.

When you leave, I am glad that I am leaving with you.

~ . ~ . ~

Just like the very first time, you are barefoot.

"I'm Mio."

"I'm Arleos."

"Hey, do you think fairies have tails?"

"Fairies? Do they even exist?"

"That's part of the charm isn't it? It's like an eternal mystery, an eternal adventure!"

"An eternal adventure? What happens if it ends then?"

"Well, it shouldn't end, but if it does, I'm sure it would be a happy ending!"

Your smile is as radiant as ever, and when I offer a hand, you take it without hesitation.

~ . ~ . ~

 **AN: This is the very first piece of fanfiction I have written so please review (constructive feedback is appreciated!) Fairy Tail was the show that really got me into anime so I thought it would be a nice tribute of sorts for my first work on this community to be about Fairy Tail. Relistening to the Fairy Tail openings and endings made me realise how fitting the lyrics of Snow Fairy were for Mavis and Zeref and I just couldn't help including a snippet of the lyrics at the top. Also, pardon me for any grammar errors - I think I confused myself at some point. Anyways, hope you enjoyed it!**


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